Back in the Great South Land

I think I can still be blogging, even though I'm not in Uganda. The idea was to blog when I'm 'over seas' but I guess I'm overseas from Uganda. I've been back in Australia for almost a month now. My, how the time has flown! I enjoyed 2 Christmases with the family and a great New Years with friends old and new. I then spent some time in Melbourne and Albury visiting friends and then went to Sydney for a week to complete phase 2 of the NHI effective teaching series. It's been awesome, everything. I think God is opening my eyes to a few things.

One of the main things I've been thinking about is the importance of community development as we work in Uganda. Unfortunately I don't have any formal training in this so it will be a bit of a challenge. I'm interested in linking up with anyone who has any experience in the following areas, or any thoughts, or is available to come to Uganda and volunteer for a bit. But I'd better not get ahead of myself. In relation to education, at the recent training course I was challenged about the way we do things in the west and wondering if there is a better way. I learnt that the way we teach is birthed from the industrial revolution, when both parents would work and they needed to do something with the kids. I believe previously the parents had been the ones to educate their children. This began the instruction schools that we have today - the cheapest and easiest way of educating the most amount of children. We have continued on, more or less in this sort of education, where we aim to educate the individual so that they can pass exams and be successful in life. I think a lot of other countries that were colonised by the western world have adopted the same methods, and I guess other countries see the influence of such countries and have followed suit. Now, education is great, don't get me wrong, but I've been challenged to consider if there might be a better way. And of course there is - God's way.

God has designed people to be in community. Notice how together believers are called the 'body' of Christ, not bodies. We are designed to be in community together, working together. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit, together. This idea of community has come up in a few different ways. Firstly, as I was preparing to leave Uganda I felt more and more strongly about the importance of getting into the local community and initiating programs to help the people, rather than being a stand-alone primary school. I had thoughts about helping orphans within their communities where possible where previously I had been thinking about taking them out to start their own community or 'children's village'. But I have also been reminded of the importance of the multi-age dimension of communities and so I think now am leaning away from the 'children's village' approach. We have many orphaned and fatherless children in our school, about two thirds, so I have been seeing more and more how much more effective change will be if we work with the homes and the widows, encouraging them to work together. So what was a 'children's project', to be effective I believe involves doing a lot of work with the adults. See, God's way is to have parents as the main educators of their children. How great would it be to equip them with the skills where they could be doing this once again. I'm trying hard to think of ways in which the community can be involved in our school and something one of the lecturers last week said has stuck with me. "Perhaps if we stopped calling them schools, and started calling them 'community centres' we'd get more adults involved". This has sparked some radical (radical for me anyway) ideas about a place that is so communal, where adults are equipped, where children are nutured and instructed, a multi-age group of people who are living and learning and working together the way God intended it to be. A place where people are not competeing against each other but a place where the individual is valued as part of a larger body. A place where 'the body of Christ' grows as each part supports each other in love and does what it was designed to do, with everyone growing into Christ, the head, who is Lord of all. I think we don't think enough about the way God intended life to be, at least I know I haven't. I think we make excuses by thinking that the world has changed, society has changed and can't allow for such a model. But if I've learnt anything over the past week it is this - that we can be confident in God's word and that His ways are always best. And his word and his ways are so practical. Truth is livable. I simply can't go into everything here. I apologise if my thoughts have been a bit jumbled but I guess I'm just trying to get it all out.

One other thing, I think agriculture is something that should be worked upon in the community also, so we wanted to have a model farm at the school. I asked what we would need to set it up and was told, seed, fertilizers and pesticides. At first I was like 'okay, lets see if we can raise the money', but now I've been researching a lot about organic farmning and can see the enormous advantages of, (surprise surprise), growing food the way God intended, el natural.

So.... here's where I am calling upon the body of Christ to work with us in community. At the moment this is a small idea in my head, so I'm gonna need people to pray with me for clarity of vision, for myself and also the Ugandan brothers and sisters. Please pray for creative ideas and insights as to how we can live out the life God created us to live, in true community. Also, I have no experience with community development, organic horticulture and very small experience in education, so I'd like you to pray with me that God will send people who have these skills that can help out in these areas.

I'm thinking now that I might remain in Australia till the middle of this year as I believe there is still a lot I need to learn here, more connections that need to be made etc.

I don't know how many people read this blog but I just want to say thanks to everyone showing an interest. Let's continue to share ideas, to pray for one another, to walk the journey with one another. God has created us for community. I love you all in Jesus' name. God bless you.

PS. I also want to thank Roz and other home educators I have met recently who have helped challenge my views of education, the entire New Hope International team for their tireless efforts to promote true Christian education throughout the nations. God bless you all.

Last post from outside Australia for 2009

I'm currently at Bangkok airport. Stew tapped into the QANTAS lounge wireless net which has been nice. Its still a few hours till we board so I thought I'd take this opportunity to post a blog I wrote the other day.

By the way, let me just say thaks to those who are interested in supporting these orphans. God bless you. The needs of the children I last wrote about have been met thanks to a generous donation from Australia. If there are others still keen to help there are many more orphans and needy at our school. Please get back to me if you'd like to be of assistance.

Here it is:

Wednesday 16th December

Today I made my final trip to the school in Nasuti for 2009. I was up early to try catch a 7am taxi to Iganga. I was fortunate to get one quickly. Though it stopped several times along the way and though I had to change vehicles twice along the way I got to Iganga quite quickly. I had to pick up three more iron sheets for the new toilet we plan to build. I love how you can take virtually anything on a boda boda, they just strap it on the back an away you go. I was worried we'd knock down pedestrians and the like with the rolled up iron sheets protruding at least a metre on either side, but we arrived at the school with no problems. I had expected more to be done on the building actually. I think rain may have slowed them down. They are now remaining with cementing the floor and plastering the walls, apparently about 4 days work. The curtain wall for the toilet was almost finished which was good to see. They had to stop when they ran out of bricks, but we should be able to burn some of the ones which have been made soon.

I forgot the most exciting news...there was a lady in Australia who donated some money to help those orphans I wrote about earlier. It was so exciting and such a blessing for these kids. I went back to visit them today to see what their needs were and to try buy the things they needed before I returned to Australia. I found out more about their circumstance. I had said they had grandparents a few houses down in the village but that's not really accurate. Here, they would call them the grandparents but really they are just the oldies of the clan. The biological grandparents had both died earlier this year, then the mother followed in November. More confusion arises as a niece is referred to as a daughter... and what makes things even more confusing is polygamous homes. This is one such home. So it turns out there are about 7 kids in this family (that I know of) but they either have different mums or different fathers. Two of them have grown up and are married. One is Sarah who herself is a widow now with two kids and twins on the way. She is the one who lives in a different village but will be coming to check on the kids, the second is a young man (I didn't catch the name) who has a small house right near the main house. He has recently married a 17 year old girl who I found out today is helping to care for the kids. She cooks for them, makes sure they wash etc. I feel a lot better knowing that there are these responsible people around. There was another older brother that we met today. He is 18 years old and hopes to start the equivalent to Year 11 next year. True to traditional Ugandan village style the boys build their own huts near the family home when they reach that age so Dennis (that's his name) lives in his own hut right next to the house. The next oldest, Dan (16 years) lives in the house and hopes to start high school next year. Now, the two girls we thought were part of the family are related but not from the same parents I think. One of them is an orphan but stays with a step mum and the other stays with another family in the village. Then the youngest Regan is apparently not of this family either, nor does he live with them but is still from a very disadvantaged family. Anyway, because we can't do everything, we wanted to focus our efforts on this family initially, so that's the five boys that stay in the home/compound. Three are students at our school. I think the youngest is 11 or 12 years. I feel better knowing that they are a bit older and have these other adults who can help. We talked to them and looked through the house, planned a budget and then went into town to buy them some things. There are enough mattresses (though three kids share a double bed) but the kids needed more blankets so we bought 3, we bought three mosquito nets, a basin for washing, a toothbrush and toothpaste each, a box of soap, a kerosene lamp (they don't have power and it will help them when reading books in the evening), 10L of kerosene, some school books, some basic moulded plastic sandals for the 3 younger boys and 2 pairs of black school shoes for the two older boys who will need them for high school. We also bought a 'new' (secondhand but still good) set of clothes for each of them. These will be their gifts for Christmas. We anticipate them to get very excited over these gifts. We have also set aside some money for the requirements needed for schooling. Our kids get free education as they are orphans, the second eldest is going for a government scholarship for fees but will still need to buy uniform and other things, and the oldest boy will need to pay school fees and have a uniform also, so we put money aside for that too plus the money left over will go towards covering any medical expenses they may have in the future. I left the items with the bursar to take to the kids as I had to return that afternoon to Kampala but I wish I was their to see their faces. I am so appreciative of this generous gift and the difference being made in these kid's lives, these poor kids who have seen so many deaths of so many loved ones. Thank you for the generous donation.

I found out about 200 of our 300 students are fatherless, and of the remaining 100, many of these are also disadvantaged, even if they have both parents. We are trying to think of the best ways to help them. I am thinking of trying to have some widow support programs that teach them skills to help them earn money for their families and of course we offer free education for the orphans. I think some in home support such as buying mosquito nets, soap etc when the money is there will also be good. I'd like to start up a child sponsorship program to help the most needy too, but we'll just have to wait and see what support comes in.

Okay, that's all for now. God bless you all.

Have a great Christmas!

PS I have included a panorama of the school for those interested in seeing more of what it looks like.

Not much longer...

This may be the last blog entry before I come back to Australia. We travelled from Mbale on Saturday for the board meeting in Kampala. We were 2.5 hours late after a lot of stuffing around with cars and mechanics and other things. We started at 12.30 and it didn't finish until 4.30pm but it was good. Stew returned to Mbale and is spending this week there and in Tororo. I am staying with Ps David in Kampala, trying to do a few last minute things before we fly on Friday. I hope to be back to visit the school one last time tomorrow or Wednesday and I think will try post a pic of the hopefully finished office/store. Otherwise, thanks for reading. I'll keep blogging things while I'm back in Australia particularly relevant to the project.

The art exhibition planned for 22nd December has been postponed until early next year. I will keep you posted though. There is a Christmas party at Alliance Church Calwell on 18th December from 7pm. Nadine will be selling some Ugandan jewellery she brought back earlier this year. Proceeds will go to our project. Please feel free to go along and check it out. All are welcome, otherwise we will have another fundraiser next year.

Thanks everyone for following me here, for your interest and support. God bless you and have a wonderful Christmas and New Year.

Yesterday we went out to the school again to see the building project. They will be putting the roof up today. We also visited those orphans I had mentioned earlier. I have attached a photo, there are 7 kids at home, 6 of them are at our school and the eldest has finished primary school. Their father died in 2003 and their mother died on the 30th November this year. They have no relatives except their elderly grandparents who live in the village, and a older sister who lives a bit far away and who herself is a widow with her own kids to care for.

One of the kids will be taken in by one of the teachers and cared for but that still leaves 6 remaining. The sister will come and check on them occasionally but they will be left more or less to themselves. We are trying to consider the best way to help these kids. I'm thinking, if we can get sponsors to pay for things like school supplies, clothing, medical care and soap etc, they should be able to live off the crops they can grow. I am also thinking, if we could get a widow to help care for them, then we could look after her as well. Anyway, just some ideas. Let me know if anyone has any suggestions. I feel so bad for these kids. I wish I could take them all in myself. Please pray for them, that they will get the love and care they need.

Making mats and building update

Here are some photos of e learning to make mats in the village and an update of the building as of yesterday.

Monday 7th December
Today was good! Again, we were up early catching the bus to Iganga as our car is still with the mechanic. We arrived at the school. The building is coming along well. I again tried to post that pic on Sunday but the internet was frustratingly slow. I took another photo today as work has progressed and the previous photo is now old. But I think I will have to take a new photo before I again try to post this blog entry Tuesday afternoon. We went back to visit our friend who was so kind to us on Friday. I learnt his name is Madada. I learnt how to make a mat and we stayed for lunch. I am so very impressed with Madada and the initiative he is taking to develop the community. He is the clan chief and also started an elderly association to help the old people in the community. He is also the chairman of some other community development association. It was great to hear about the things he's done or tried. For example, he showed us the passbooks of different community members who he had encouraged to bank each week. It had been going well until the district officials told them to stop. He said that people don't want them to develop in the village, but he sees that a lot of people are struggling and he wants to help. Anyway, I was so encouraged to meet someone who took responsibility for the well being of the community and who took the initiative to help. It wasn't just an idea that he had and was waiting for funding, be it was something he was actually doing. Actions speak loud... He sent us off with lots of fresh milk and his elderly mother and neighbour brought us peanuts. They are so lovely. I loved also how the women helped me learn to make the mats, even when some couldn't speak English, they still tried and I guess I understood. I had a really lovely time and look forward to meeting more members of the community in the future.
We got home well enough by taxi to Mbale. I have been preparing something for the up coming board meeting but should probably sleep now as we have another early start. We picked up the car this arvo, it was all fixed, except now the battery has gone, so we will again be catching the bus.
P.S. I think its only 10 days now till I leave...

Tuesday 8th December

Today was good. The building is coming along well. Today they are splitting a felled tree we have to use in the roof trusses. The picture I have posted is a little dated now. I have a more recent one to post but haven't got it on my USB yet. The man you see in the photo is Madada and his vanilla plant.

Not too much more to report. Stew has gone to Tororo and I caught a taxi back to Mbale. A policeman sat next to me for part of the way and tried to pick me up which was a bit awkward but other than that nothing too eventful has happened.

Building Update

Hey everyone! I just thought I'd post a pic of the work being done at the school. Apparently this small storage room will be finished in about a weeks time. I was impressed to see it yesterday. Yesterday was good. We went to the school to see the progress. We also went to see some rooms that were available for rent but they weren't good. On the way we saw a neighbour who sends his kids to our school. I think he is a local council member but I'm not sure. Anyway, he was showing us his rather impressive garden. He grows vanilla beans and gave us some. YUM! They smell great. I think his is a model or demo garden for some organisation. He has cows and is cross bredding goats and has modern vegetable farming I think. Anyway, he sent us away laden with goodies like mangoes and pawpaws and invited us back on Monday to enjoy a vanilla tea and see the rest of his garden. That was the highlight, its all been a bit down hill since then.

On the way home we had to wait some time for a taxi. Eventaully one turned up and we were squeezed in. I bought a water on the way but it was only once I'd finished it that I realised it was not an original. Though it was sealed I could see the bottle had been reused and refilled with local water. Almost immediately I started getting stomach pains that got worse throughout the night but I'm feeling a lot better today, though still not quite 100%. Then there was the problem with the taxi conductor. I had negotiated a price before we entered but I guess he wasn't really listening or simply didn't care. He wouldn't give us back enough change. I got so frustrated and kept pestering him. He said no but eventually, when we reached Mbale I sat there, blocking other passengers from exiting until he gave me back all the change. We then went to buy some stuff from the supermarket and I mustn't have closed the zip on my bag because after going through a crowd I realised my wallet and purse were gone. There wasn't really much ion there, probably $15-20 and just a few cards like licence etc. It was more the shock of it all, the fact of my own stupidity and the depravity of humans to stoop to the level of theft that left me crying for a short moment. It really could have been worse. Stew had my ipod and ATM card that I usually keep in the same bag pocket. I was thinking this morning that I was glad my ipod didn't go missing, only to hear about 20 mins ago that Stew had left it in his pocket and it had gone through the wash. So that's a big bummer too. I hate to be so attached to possessions, but I am sometimes. Anyway, things could have been worse.

Today we are just resting and doing a few errands. Jackie, Dorcas' aunt wants me to try cook a european meal for dinner. She keeps refering to me and Europe and I correct her, that I am from Australia, not Europe but perhaps she doesn't know where australi is or is confusing it with Austria. Anyway, I'm going to cook a chicken and mushroom pasta. Muzungu food is so expensive! We could eat Ugandan style for about a week for the same price! Anyway, I hope it will be a nice change. I see she has an oven so I might try bake a cake or maybe do a roast in a few days.

We leave here in 13 days. Time has gone so quick. I'm looking forward to being home. Let me know if you would like me to come to your church/homegroup, school or other function/event to talk about Sunrise Children's project when I'm back. Next year is shaping up to be a busy and hopefully very productive year for the project. We would love for you to be a part of it.

Cheerio all.

Ps. I've waited and waited for the pics to upload but internet is slow. I'll try again tomorrow.

Busy, busy, busy, busy

The last few days have been hectic! We have just moved from our house as the lease was up. It's been a challenge as our things have been divided amongst three different places. Our friend Dorcas will be renting a small room and wanted to keep s few bits of furniture for herself, so we had to deliver them to another friend's house to keep them in storage for her until she returns from Kenya. She has gone there to stay with an aunt over the holidays. We then needed to shift half of the remaining furniture to our friend's place in Kampala as they were just moving in without any furniture, and the last half we had to move to our friend's place in Iganga who would keep it until I moved back next year. We thought if I could have my things not so far from where I am likely to be moving to, then that would be much easier next year. The plan was to send Bob, Dan and Wasswa to Kampala with the furniture into the place they would be staying in whilst I'm away. We had wanted to move in on the Saturday but the landlord who had the key we needed said they still had furniture in the place that needed to be moved out and they couldn't do it on Saturday as they were seventh day adventists. They said Sunday would be okay but that didn't suit us with our services on Sunday. That threw the plans out a little but it was okay. We went to Dorcas' village instead. I think I wrote about that last time but I've forgotten. On Sunday I went to Geof's church in Mbale and Stew had a baptism service in Malaba with the church in Tororo. We continued packing that evening, ready for the pick-up truck that was supposed to arrive between 7 and 8am the next morning to take my things to Iganga. We had thought if we could move early we would have the rest of the afternoon to purchase and shift some building materials to the school where we are just starting building on a small office and storage room. So I was up at 6am getting prepared. Dan also went into town early to try track down a small truck that we could hire to take the other half of the things to Kampala. Monday was the last day of the lease so we wanted to be all moved out. However, nothing really went to plan on Monday at all. We waited and waited for the pickup and for Dan to get a truck. At 3pm the man arrived with the pickup. He had helped us shift furniture from Iganga to Mbale before for free and we had assumed/had been informed that it would be the same case. When he quoted a price that was beyond ridiculous we had to decline. I was quite annoyed. We had nothing else we could do. I was also supposed to be bringing December's salaries to the school and the teachers had been waiting there from morning. Our friend Geofrey helped us track down another pickup. The cost of this one was much more reasonable. We paid a deposit but the owner wouldn't let us take then and there as he thought he might be able to get another job from it over the next few hours. I called up the school and tried to explain the situation. We agreed that nothing could be done and we'd try again the next day. We were told by 5pm that the pickup would be ready so Stew went to pick it up but waited and waited and waited for it to come back from its other job. Finally at about 8.30pm it came back. Stew took it, rounded the first corner and it ran out of petrol. He put a bit more in it, went to start it again but the battery was flat. So he decided to leave that pickup. He went to get our deposit back but the man had spent some of it! It was so frustrating. Geofrey came up with a solution of lending us his van for the next day so eventually, Stew returned with the van late in the evening. The other major change of plans was that we had arranged to stay with Bishop for the last few weeks, a pastor/head of a project/many churches. His son was the one who got married a few months back for those of you playing at home. Anyway, he had said on the Friday that we could move in on the Monday. Stew called him on Monday to tell him we'd move in in the evening and he then kinda hung up on us and said he's get back to us. A bit later a different pastor informed us on Bishop's behalf that we couldn't stay with him any more as he had guests arriving from Nigeria. We were pretty annoyed. He would have known for sometime but left it until the very last minute to tell us. Since then we have heard that the Nigerians will actually be renting our old house for 2 weeks so Bishops house is indeed free! Its so frustrating. I wish people would just be open. Anyway, so we were without a place to stay once we moved out. Fortunately Dorcas had an aunt here in Mbale who agreed to put us up for a week or two so we have been staying there. Dan finally tracked down a truck on Monday but when he was about to come pick up the things he found another customer that would pay him more and so went with them instead. By the time we arrived at Dorcas' aunt's place and had supper it was after midnight before we went to sleep, and we were to get up at 6am to try it all again. In summary, Monday was horrible and very frustrating.

The boys (Bob, Dan and Wasswa) stayed at the house with our stuff while Dorcas, Stew and I stayed at her aunts place. At 6am we were back at the house to pick up Dorcas' things to put them into storage. We packed them into the van with no trouble and dropped them off. We then came back to to the house to pack as much as we could take of the things planning to go to Iganga. Together we discovered we had some sweet packing skills and we were able to squeeze a small table, four chairs, around three small shelves, some small coffee tables, two suitcases, a guitar and other small things all into the back of this van. It was amazing!! We dropped them off at my friend's place and then continued on to town where we met two staff member from school who had come to help us buy materials for the construction. We loaded the van up with 15 bags of cement and 13 iron sheets for roofing and took it back to the school. When we arrived they had almost finished digging the foundations. It was so encouraging to see. I stayed at the school and helped pay the teachers as they trickled in for their salaries. Stew and three others returned to Iganga to get the final 15 bags of cement and all the other things we needed. We had planned to be back in Mbale by 4pm so Stew could be in Tororo for a church meeting he had by 5pm, but time got away from us so we went directly to Tororo from the school, arriving maybe 30mins late and had a fellowship session outside a church member's house. It was such a wonderful time of mutual encouragement as we sang songs, prayed together, heard testimonies and discussed the message from church on Sunday. We then headed back to Mbale. It was such a successful day! It was getting late as we headed back. We dropped Ps Peter home and he informed us his wife had prepared tea for us. We said we couldn't stay long as Dorcas' aunt was waiting for us and also Geof was waiting for us to return the van. Anyway, they gave us tea. (literally a cup of tea and bread). We stood to go but they again detained us until they had fed us supper as well. It was a really nice guesture but I was getting impatient as we still had other things to do that evening and it was getting late. It really got to me actually. If we had warning and could have planned for it perhaps it would have been okay but we were just so tight for time and waiting for food took so long! It challenged me actually. They were trying to do something nice and the way I was thinking was more or less saying 'stuff you, my time is more important than your time.' It was challenging. Its just hard to find a balance when there are things that need doing. Anyway, we eventually left but still had to go back and pick up the dog and drop it off to Bishop, whom we had borrowed it from. We then also had to drive 10km out of town and drop the van off to Geof who then had to drive us 10km back to Dorcas' aunts place. So, again we didn't get to bed until after midnight. Tuesday's summary: God doesn't desert his people and makes a way to accomplish his will. His timing is more important than our timing.

On Wednesday we again got up at 6am as he had to walk to town to catch a bus to Iganga as our car is busted and needs an engine overhaul (fun!). We opted for the 'Posta bus' which leaves at 7am on the dot and takes the Mbale mail to Kampala, stopping to pick up mail from any other post offices along the way. We had caught one from Kabale to Kampala before and were impressed by its punctuality etc. We thought it was a good idea but we were very very wrong. What should have been a 1.5 hour trip to Iganga became 3 hours as they went via Tororo. I was so annoyed, plus, instead of only stopping at psot offices as they should, they kept stopping along the way to pick up passengers and drop them off like any ordinary taxi which was also frustrating and took time. But we learnt our lesson. We arrived in town and grabbed something for breakfast from the supermarket then went back to pick up some extra iron bars that were needed on site for the foundations. We carried them back to the school on a boda boda. When we arrived there was a truck dropping of 'hardcore' (foundation stones). It was also good to see this progress. For much of the rest of the day we waited as the truck came back with other loads but when it came to about 3pm and they still hadn't finished, we had to continue on our way. We got back to Iganga and waited quite some time for a taxi to Mbale. We got about half way when they stopped and moved us into an over crowded bus for the remained of the journey we had to stand but with time were able to get a seat. We had arranged to meet up with a friend for dinner and were late for that but everything worked out okay. It was a lovely evening. We met with a couple who's wedding I had attended in December 2007. An Australian man and his Ugandan wife and adopted son Moses. We discussed many things including the Ugandan education system and our various projects. They stay out at a community based project called Salem. It sounds like a wonderful place, its own little village. I am hoping to pay them a visit next week and I'll give more information about it then.

Well, I think I should end my rant. I'm sorry to have bored anyone but the last few days have been very long and hectic. Today we are resting in Mbale though we still have lots of running around town to do. Our internet expired yesterday so I'm typing this up at home but will go to an internet cafe hopefully today to post it. It will take more time but its not worth paying for a months internet when we are only here for two more weeks...TWO MORE WEEKS EVERYONE!!! Once I've finished with my errands today I'm going to try do some more work on these art and craft things before our exhibition on 22nd December. So today will also be busy but I will at least avoid 6 hours of travelling. Tomorrow we will try get our hands on a motorbike to be a little bit more independent and will again travel to the school to oversee the building and help draw up a budget for next year. I will also check out another potential house to rent next year.

Oh, one more thing, yesterday as we were discussing the budget I heard of four of our kids who have just become orphans. Previously their mother was paying some small school fees but she died last Thursday I think. Their father had died the year before. They have no known relatives except an uncle who left the country years ago and has never been heard of since I believe. We are trying to figure out how we can help them. There are some options of someone taking one or two of them in, but that leaves some remaining and separates them. We are considering, if we can support them to remain in their house, that that would be best. I believe there are two older brothers in high school that can head the home. I am hoping to visit them before I go so I can get their stories and photos and perhaps we can find sponsors for them when I return to Australia. Please pray for these kids. I'll give you more info when I know more.

Okay, I'd better keep going...things to do...

Busy, busy

Sorry I've been slack in my updates. Things have been quite busy here. Let me start where I left off, as much as I can remember...

Last Wednesday I think it was, I took Bob and Dorcas to the school. Because I had had trouble with the taxis the day before I thought it would be much more comfortable to take a bus to Iganga. Though more comfortable it was stressful in its own way. There are several competing coach companies so as soon as you step foot in the place they mob you and can physically drag you to the bus. We were trying to push them away, you should have seen Dorcas, she was flaying her arms around and swinging her bag. It was the worst bus-mobbing I've ever had. Eventually we decided on a bus. Then we had to wait for it to fill. On the journey I taught Dorcas and Bob how to make the wristbands I had taught the kids at the school to make. Most of the surrounding passengers became interested too and a few were asking how much we were selling them for. I told them we were taking them back to Australia to sell, but gave one lady a sample of a practice one as she wasnted to make one herself. It was encouraging to see their response, to think that the kids are learning a skill that people are keen to have here.

We continued doing art and craft on Wednesday. Thursday I was at home preparing for the teaching session on Friday. I believe it rained quite heavily at some point on Friday. I have included a photo I took of some kids staring out at the rain. On Friday I discovered I am the principal of the school. It came as a bit of a shock but I feel up to the challenge. Communication is not a strong point here, or perhaps it's just the individuals I am working with. Anyway, they neglected to tell me this minor detail until it was inferred on Friday and then confirmed when I asked right out. I think its kinda funny.

I forget how the weekend went. It was no doubt fine but busy.

On Monday I was back at school, infact I've been there everyday again this week up until yesterday when the school closed. I've been doing some more painting with the kids and we finished our teacher training sessions. As I said, yesterday was the last day of school. We had an end of year staff meeting and a parents meeting (I have attached a pic of some parents). As principal I had to make a speech. It seemed very well received. I explained our plans for the future to the parents and showed them samples of the art and craft we had been doing. They seemed very pleased and appreciative which was a huge encouragement to me. I tried to make it really clear that we're in this together and that we needed to cooperate, that we can't do it alone. We had two of the board members attend also and they made a speech which I think all contributed to a boost in morale all round. Needless to say, I am exhausted! travelling at 8am in the morning and returning at 8pm everyday really takes it out of you. I am relieved the teaching part is over for this year.

However, I plan to continue to travel to the school next week as we aim to start building a storage facility to store documents and resources. I would love for it to be finished before we go.

Tomorrow will hopefully be a bit of a rest day, then church on Sunday. On Monday we will be moving out of our place and taking a ute-load of things to our friend's place in Kampala. On Tuesday we hope to start buying materials to build the storage room. It's going to be another busy week no doubt.

I forgot to mention, today we went to visit Dorcas' aunt and left her with one of our dogs. One we have already taken to a friends place in Iganga and Rambo is staying at the school with the cook/watchman. Mwala is going back to her old owner. After this we visited her grandmother in the village. I have also attached a photo of her and the other relatives there. They fed us well and Stew gave the Gran some medicine for a problem she had been suffering. Then we returned home late in the afternoon. We've been listening to some online sermons from our church this evening which have been interesting.

Hmm, what else? I'm considering returning to Uganda at the beginning of their school year next year, instead of later in April like I first thought but I am still praying about it all. I am also looking for a suitable place to stay in closer to the school as Mbale is simply too far! There is one place that is good that I saw yesterday but I will keep praying and looking for other places.

Please pray that I find a suitable place, also that I get clarity as to when I should be returning next year, and that we have a productive but not too exhausting next few weeks.

That brings we to my latest news. According to the block of chocolate a friend sent me for my birthday which is acting as a count down, almost like an advent calendar, I will be returning to Australia soon. I have 10 pieces of chocolate left which means 20 days (as I eat one piece every second day) before I leave for home, arriving on 20th of December. Hooray! Please feel free to get in contact with me when I'm back. I would love to hear from you.

I think that's more or less most of the updates. Stew is going well. He is keeping busy with the church in Tororo. They will be having baptisms on Sunday. We ate our last chicken this evening in preparation for our move.

...and I think I've rambled on enough and am ready for bed.

God bless you all for reading and for your support.

What a day

I was late heading off to the school this morning as Stew is away in Kampala with the car so I had to go by public means. It takes soooo long. First you have to negotiate a price. (I think I am getting good at this if I do say so myself.) Then you have to sit and wait for the taxi to fill, it could take between 10minutes to an hour or more depending where you are. It took us about 30 minutes. I realised I was running late for the school so I didn't have time to take lunch. Fortunately there was a place to buy snacks on the way so I had gonja for lunch (roasted bananas). I then had to locate a boda boda that would take me to Nasuti village for my price. One agreed but in the end I ended up caving in and giving him a bit extra. Maybe I'm not as good at negotiating as I thought... I arrived at the school at around 2.30pm and I started training the teachers at around 3.45pm. We went up to almost 5.45pm which was very late. I had to wait around to get a lift back into Iganga. You can flag down private vehicles sometimes and pay them what you would pay if using public means. I entered an already overcrowded car. There were 4 adults in the back, two sharing the driver's passenger seat and I shared the seat with the driver. It was quite entertaining really. Then, upon reaching Iganga I also had to wait for sometime for a taxi heading to Mbale, and had to wait for it to fill. Long staory short...I got home around 9.15pm and am pretty exhausted. I hope to be at the bus park at around 8am tomorrow to do it all again. I'll be taking Bob and Dorcus to go and see the school tomorrow and they will help with art and craft in Stewie's absence, though he plans to pick us up from the school on his way from Kampala to Mbale.

I was at the school yesterday too and will be going on Friday as well as tomorrow. The travelling really takes it out of you, physically and financially too. I'm drained. I look forward to living closer to the school next year. I just want to get as much in at the school as possible. They break for holidays next Friday. After that I might be able to relax a bit, though I doubt it as we'll be moving house, plus organising for a storage room to be built at the school, plus also preparing for the up coming board meeting and trying to get all the art and craft organised and ready to bring back for the art exhibition in Australia. Busy, busy, busy...

I'd better get some sleep now.

P.S. Church on Sunday was great. I'm really appreciating Geof's pastor and his church. It encourages me a lot. God is good!

Newsletter

The long awaited newsletter has been sent out. If you have not received a copy we may have copied your email address incorrectly or the attachment was too large for your inbox (hotmailers) and we will resend a reduced quality over the weekend. If you have still not received something by next week, or would like to be added to the email list, please let me know and I'll do all I can.

Friday

Today we went out to the school, arriving while the nursery students were still around. They swamped us! It was hilarious. They were so funny and cute. They knelt down and greeted us and were stoked when I greeted them in their language. They loved getting their photos taken. I tried to get them to smile but it doesn't quite come natural to a lot of them. I have included photos of the kids and then also one of them crowding around the water bore.

I think the teacher training went well today, though we always run short of time and I have to skip some of the journal exercises. I set it for homework but most don't touch there books until the following week. Today we looked at the importance of the Bible in a Christian school. I took an anonymous survey. All our teachers have Bibles but reading it often appears a challenge for some and few have read the Bible or even the New Testament through. I suggested a Bible reading plan and some of them were interested so I'll get that to them next week. There are only two weeks left of school so we will be doing two sessions a week to get it all done before the holidays.

We got back late. I'm tired and hungry but see a bowl of delicious katogo before me so I shouldn't complain.

My dilemma...or distraction

I've just had a thought and am seeking some response from the great world out there (that means you valued reader). It's not a hugely pressing issue, rather, I think I am just procrastinating from the preparation I need to do for tomorrow's lesson. But I am just catching up on some emails and was thinking about how I and others sign off their emails or letters. I wouldn't mind coming up with something more God-centred, a reminder that we only have life because of Him anyway. The closest I come at the moment to anything remotely godly is 'bless you' or 'blessings' but I'd like something more. Some others that I've received sign off 'in His (or our Lord's) service', or 'in His love'. Anyone else have any other good ones? And my next question is do people only sign off this way if they are writing to other Christians? Is there some kind of way of ending an email to a non-Christian that still acknowledges God but is not inappropriate. What is and isn't appropriate there? Is it being too preachy or offensive to acknowledge that you take orders from a higher power? Why is it inappropriate to acknowledge the God that created and sustains us to a non-Christian? I know I would feel uncomfortable signing off in such a manner to such a person. Is that bad? And just because something is socially acceptable, does that make it right?Is there a solution? I am an English teacher, I should know all about letter etiquette, but I don't. I think knowing how to sign off letters and emails properly is something that my generation, and those below have missed somewhat, or maybe its just me. Maybe its just that most my emails are addressed to friends and something like a proper ending is too formal. What about a casual ending that acknowledges God? I think I would usually just go for 'blessings' there. Anyone have any thoughts or solutions to my dilemma?

What's your Worldview?

Wow! I can't believe another week has gone. Time is just flying by. I was about to write that not much has happened but when I think about it, something is always happening. On Friday I finished the 5th session on effective teaching with our teachers. The topic was 'Developing a Christian Worldview' which is one of my favourite topics as it is something that has really challenged me over the last 24 months. Though I'm not sure that they really got it, or perhaps its not such a big deal here as they haven't really been hit with secular humanism. The Christians here know to give up ancestor worship, witch doctors etc (though it can also be a challenge for 'infant' Christians) and know that a Christian is called to live differently. I think in the west we know as well that Christians should live differently to the western culture and not get drunk, or sleep around etc but I can see that often we embrace things that seem okay, like they seem they are not in direct oppostion to God's word, as if God's word actually doesn't have anything to say on a certain topic, though I find people (seem to) rarely question the underlying ideologies of something. Often we get caught up in things that seem okay, but are actually founded in new age or secular humanistic ideas. It hasn't really hit Africa, so it was hard for me to get this kind of thing across but there are things creeping in as, for example, they start to base their education systems more heavily on the western model. Then there are things like 'child-centred education' which sounds good at first, until you really look into the biblical view of teaching, and for teaching to be truly effective and lasting, it can't be centred on man, but needs to be Christ-centred. Anyway, something to think about. That's one of the main points of the course that we are doing. I don't know if that made sense to anyone, but please be challenged to question everything. The Bible has something to say about everything and we need to know and follow God only.

I guess that brings me to Saturday. We went to the conference at 9am but ended up leaving around 11am. We were waiting for the team to show up but they didn't (until after we left). There was a pastor that preached a message. People seemed to be getting all worked up in agreement but both Stewart and I seriously questioned what he had to say. We believed he was taking things out of context and placing undue emphasis on other things. We didn't want to stick around. I may have said it before. Christianity is miles wide in Uganda, but inches deep. There is a need to bring Christian leaders to a level of spiritual maturity so they can properly lead Christ's flock and not lead them astray. Dear friends, again, please check whatever you are hearing preached; check it against God's word. Please make sure things are in context, not just in the passage, but in line with the whole of God's word. Lack of spiritual maturity is causing many problems in Uganda. I feel overwhelmed when I consider the problem. Please pray for the Christians here, that they will know the truth.

On Sunday we went to Tororo. Stew preached on being the salt and light of the earth. It was good, though I am often reluctant to go to Tororo as I know it means a whole day is taken up. I had planned to be back in time for the evening service at Geofrey's church at 5pm to catch some of their teaching which has blessed me so much. However, (I half expected it) we did not arrive home until at least 7.30pm. I was a bit annoyed that I had missed out but there were other things I would have missed out on had I not gone to Tororo. For example. There was a young man who often attends the church, only he is deaf, so I was able to try interpret for him. His name is Ronald. He is in his last year of secondary school. I believe they are doing their final year exams this week. He told me he had become deaf 2 years ago, and that now his 18 year old brother is also becoming deaf. I asked him if he knew the cause and he said it was spiritual, an attack of Satan. I'm not sure what to do with that. I do by no means deny the existence and work of the forces of evil in this world, but wonder if somethings are simply a result of living in a fallen world that is doomed for decay. I wonder if somethings are attributed to the work of demons which are not actually a result of demonic activity. I think Ugandans are very much aware of the spirit realm, where in the west it is the opposite. I just don't know. I have too many thoughts on the matter to put down now. But anyway, it was good to be able to help translate for this guy. Afterward we went and visited a few church members and had a late lunch and then headed back to Mbale but first took tea at Ps Peter's house before returning home. I am very grateful for people's hospitality here in Uganda, its only that my mind set on programs and time some how stole some of the joy I should have experienced at the hands of these people. It's another challenge for me. I should try to never be too busy for people.

On Monday I caught the 7am bus to Kampala. I arrived before noon and pottered around the city, buying a few beads, wool, paint brushes etc that we will use for craft with the children. I then caught a taxi to Seeta where I visited Ps David's wife Anne and daughters Jemimah, Sandra and Melissa. They are all so adorable. I stayed the night there and then visited another friend the next day before heading back to Kampala to catch a bus back to Mbale. I arrived back at around 7pm last night. I sat next to a guy from Germany who had arrived a few days earlier and had come to visit his friend at a certain project in Mbale and travel a bit with her. The drive was long and hot but we made it safely.

Today we are going out to the school to again do art and craft with the kids. Tomorrow will be preparation for Friday's teaching session at the school and then hopefully a rest day on Saturday.

Sowing and reaping and other things

Hey everyone, I know I was supposed to post animal picks but internet is so slow here that its going to be a mega chore, so I'll try get round to it this weekend.

Just a quick update... On Sunday I went to Geofrey's church. I really appreciate the preaching there. On thing that's been coming up a bit is the reaping what you sow principle. I've heard it repeated recently in sermons, talks, songs...its interesting. A few of the contexts have been similar also, such as, it doesn't matter how much you fast and pray, you will not grow maize where you haven't planted it, or another way I heard it put, the very next day in a different church was that no matter how much you pray and fast and have faith that a dying pot-plant will get better, unless you attend to its needs (give it water, sunlight, pick off bugs etc) it will die. And then again, in a song from an album I received for my birthday "...We all well know we're gonna reap what we sow. We all well know what kind of crops are gonna grow..." I'm not sure why I'm sharing this. I think its just interesting that the reap/sow relationship has come up recently. It's a biblical principle I am aware of but I must say, I've gone a long time without giving it thought. Let's all think more about it.

So Sunday was dandy. Monday was also equally satisfactory. We went to a church conference that was held at Impact Church. They have 5 Aussies visiting (from Canberra!) and they are running a conference this week during the day and then crusades in the evenings. We introduced ourselves to the team. They are from Parkway church. Turns out the senior pastor, John Macnamara used to pastor me when I was little. He knows my mum. Then a lady called Sally mid-service turned around and asked if I was Kim's sister. We really must look alike. Its crazy that we met in Uganda of all places. What a small world, or rather, what a great God!

On Tuesday I left Stew in Mbale to work on a sermon he'll be preaching on Saturday, and travelled at 6am to Iganga. I wanted to be there for their weekly assembly. I also sat in on some classes. It was insightful. The Ugandan way is very different to that of Australia but it seems to work for them. When I tried to probe for some deeper understanding with some of the students I only got blank faces. I don't know if its the language barrier or if there are certain areas that need work. I'm sure its a combination. Then I met my friend Rich for lunch in town and he took me to his sister's church where he had been ministering over the past 3 weeks after finishing bible college. I greeted the church and ate lunch and then I took him to see our school quickly then we returned back to Mbale. This moring Rich, Stew and I all headed back to Iganga. We left him there and then continued on to Jinja where we met Ps David before he heads off to America tomorrow! Please pray for safe travels and a successful time there for him. We then drove back to Nasuti and arrived just in time to begin the art program with the kids. It is a lot more difficult without the girls helping but Stew has been doing a good job. I am counting on students being interested in a holiday program where we do a few intensive workshops to get the bulk of the art and craft done for me to bring back to Australia. They only have two more weeks left of school. So today has been a long day. I also read through half of Job. I'm pretty tired but will do some more reading then go to bed.

Tomorrow I plan to have millet porridge for breakfast and perhaps a banana. I don't know the name but its a special kind that you steam in the skins and it goes a bit reddish. It's really nice and reminds me a bit of a rhubard flavour. They are rare to come by in the market so when I see them I buy them. YUMMY! I then hope to attend the conference at Impact church until lunch and then come home and prepare for the teacher training that I'll be doing at the school on Friday. We will be looking at worldviews, a topic of great interest to me.

On Saturday I also plan to attend the conference in the morning and then I am meeting with a certain Ugandan pastor who has been recommended to me by a friend.

That's all, nothing terribly exciting.

I also took this photo of these kids as I sat in the car at a petrol station. You can't see it very well but one of the kids shorts were ripped right the way up the backside. It's common to see something like this here.

Other adventures

We arrived in Kampala on Thursday morning and then continued on to Mityana where we had planned to go visit St Mary's School for the Deaf. That is where our friend Aidat works. They had been waiting for us. They showed us there work and performed a drama piece for us. We then served the students lunch and they took us away to our own little feast that they had prepared. It was really lovely. They are such nice people there. We had to rush back though as I had a meeting planned that afternoon in Kampala which actually fell through. I forget what we did that evening but it was no doubt a hoot!

On Friday Stew and I met with Ps David while the girls went shopping and then on Saturday we held another board meeting. I was a bit disappointed by the turn out and the punctuality of some, but TIA (this is Africa)... All in all things went well though and some good decisions were made. Keep watching for the e-newsletter which will be out soon. Let me know if you are not on the email list and would like to be and I'll try make sure you are kept up to date. On Saturday arvo we visited a craft market for the girls to buy some souvenirs to take back to their friends and family. We also bought some DVDs as we were looking forward to having some veg time but the power was off at the hotel for at least 2 days straight much to our annoyance.

So on Sunday we packed up and shifted to a different guest house (this one included a mammoth breakfast for almost the same price). And in the evening we visited a nearby hotel to view a live Ugandan cultural song and dance presentation. I never ceased to be amazed with the way they dance. The women can simply isolate their abdomen and bottom and shake them like crazy! I want to learn. I've been practising. We then left and went back to our place to watch a movie. We watched 'Rat Race' but I fell asleep.

On Monday we drove to Entebbe and dropped Brooke and Karen off at the airport. I was so sad to see them go and will miss them heaps but I know I'll see them again sometime. Stewart and I then undertook the long drive back to Mbale, arriving at around 8.30pm.

What a week!

Tuesday we rested and did a few errands and I tried to catch up some work.

Yesterday Stew and I went out to the school. I observed a class under a mango tree and then took the kids for art. It was a lot more challenging with out the girls to help. We combined the P5 and 6s to do drawing and painting and the P4s made woolen bracelets. I started by giving the P5 instructions, then P6's and then ran to the back of the classroom where the P4's were sitting, facing the opposite direction also awaiting instructions. I ran back and forth a bit between the two groups and Stewart was a good help handing out wool and supervising the P4s. It was a good but tiresome day. We had also bought a bunch of Rocky and Rambo films and last night I began educating myself. I actually really enjoyed Rocky. I think I've seen Rocky II some where along the line. I'm looking forward to checking out Rambo sometime. Fun, fun.

Today I have been catching up on emails and blog entries, in fact it has pretty much taken up my entire day. I will also need to do some preparation before I head to the school again tomorrow to train the teachers in the afternoon. Busy, busy, busy. Stew and Dan have been cleaning the car. It was filthy after our road trip, inside and out. I'll stop now and put on the beans for supper. Wait, Stew's already done it. Thanks buddy! We are eating a Ugandan dish tonight called Katogo. It's yummy. Then I think Stew had suggested we treat ourselves to a massage at the Resort Hotel. Sounds like a plan to me :)

And now I am finally up to date with my blog entries....HOORAY!!

WAIT!! I forgot to put up animal photos! That will take a while...maybe I'll get to it on Saturday...sigh, I thought I was finally on top of things....

Safari, day 3 ... part 3...b?

More photos from the top of the waterfall...

Safari, day 3 ... part 3

The drive to the top was peaceful and lovely. We arrived to find some amazing magical land. Well, not really, but the place looked like it was covered in glitter. It must be the type of rock that has made the soil look like that. It was gorgeous. I've tried to take a photo of the ground but it doesn't really do it justice. We found a walking track and made our way to the top. It was an incredible view. There were about three different viewing points which each gave us a different perspective of the powerful waterfall. I can't explain how strong and how much water was gushing between the two sides of rock. It was truly powerful. We got covered in the spray of the water and saw a beautiful rainbow. Karen and I also tried some interesting looking berries. I was so glad we went out of the way to go see it from the top.

We then continued on our way to Kampala but the road works were shocking. It was getting dark and we were still far off so we decided to stay the night in a town. Driving at night in Uganda is not only a pain, but it is also dangerous. I think I have mentioned it in previous blogs, that the cars and trucks will drive with hi-beam on all the time. It is difficult to see and somewhat stressful. So we stayed at a guest house in Luwero. It was pleasant enough though the only food they served was beef and chips (it was tasty though).

Safari, day 3 ... part 2

I didn't want to leave Murchison Falls National Park without first seeing the falls. Stew had arranged a boat cruise on Wednesday morning before lunch. It was a bit pricey as it was only the four of us on the boat. We tried roping in some others but most of them had gone to do a morning fishing session (which was ever more out of our price range). So we packed the car, checked out and enjoyed the beauty of the river all to ourselves. We saw plenty of hippos, even some baby ones and were happy also to see some Nile crocodiles. The boat took us past grasslands, jungles, cliffs and finally to a small island in front of the waterfall where we could get out and view it from some rocks. The falls were still a fair distance away but you could see from the strong flow it would be difficult to get any closer. It was an amazing view. We then enjoyed the trip back down the river where we spotted more wildlife that had come down to the water to drink as the day got hotter. We saw antelope, buffaloes, warthogs and of course, plenty of hippos. We then enjoyed lunch and afterward headed off to the top of the falls.

Safari, day 3 ... part 1

Karen and I had been trying to decide whether or not we should wake up for the sunrise on Wednesday morning but when we were awakened at 6.30 by the noisy Indian family in the cabin next to us we decided we'd get up and head down to the river. It was a good choice. The scenery was beautiful and we had a nice chat for an hour or so. It was really a lovely time. We then headed back to the camp to get ready for our next adventure. We were to head back to Kampala that day but not beofore we did a river cruise to the bottom of the falls and then a drive by ourselves to the top.

Safari, day 2 ... part 2

We had planned to duck into Pakwach to withdraw money and be back by 2pm to catch the afternoon river cruise to the base of Murchison falls; however, in Africa, things rarely go to plan. We were unable to withdraw money from Pakwach and had to drive another hour to the town of Nebbi. I was pretty stressed about time and then sour when I realsied we wouldn't make it back in time. I had really wanted to go see the falls. But then I snapped out of it and continued to enjoy the adventure. God had shown us the previous day that when our plans don't go to plan it isn't necessarily a bad thing. New opportunities open up. We bought some food including some birthday mangoes and 'sim sim' (seaseme seed cake things). We even spotted some more elephants on our way back to the park. We arrived back at the jetty and waited for the 5pm (I think) ferry. We ate our sim sim as we waited which is apparently one of the favourite foods of baboons. We were swamped. They must have smelt it. They surrounded the car and one of them rushed at Karen. She shrunk back into the seat but couldn't close the door fast enough. The bag of mangoes on the dashboard saved her life! Well, probably not that extreme. But it stopped a serious fight. Karen loves her sim sim as much as a baboon. In one swift motion the baboon stole a bag of mangoes from inside the car and ran back to the shelter of the tree. I was annoyed but it was very entertaining. After watching them for some time we moved the car to the otherside of the car park but some followed. One of them climbed onto the car and terrorised Karen who was trapped inside. It then preceeded to sit on then pee on the driver side mirror. The ferry came and we were released from the brutal creatures. It was pretty funny, but I have decided baboons are way more annoying than cool.

I forget what we did next. I think we went back to the guest house and grabbed a soda to take down to the river to play cards and watch the sun set over the water. We set ourselves up at a little spot on a jetty between two boats. It was then that my friends surprised me with cards and gifts. it was very special. I got a giant mug like the one I am missing in Australia. its so cool...and BIG. The girls also made some beautiful things. They are so lovely. Our leisurely car game was interrupted not only by the low light, but by the sound of two hippos surfacing from the river for their evening grazing session. It was amazing to see them so close. We climbed onto one of the boats and watched them just a few metres away. The only problem was that they stood between us and our car. We finally spotted a Ugandan man on him boat a little further down the bank. We called out to him and explained the situation. He clapped and made noise and told us to walk wide, right down near the water. I was reluctant to spook the animals and get between them and their escape route but it worked out fine. We got back and had another delicious supper. The hippos made there way up to the campsite. Stew and Brooke got a good look at them near their cabin but Karen and I missed out. Oh well. There was still plenty of adventure for all of us that day. What a great and memorable birthday!

Safari, day 2 ... part 1

Day two was super! It was my birthday. I am now 24 years old. The day begun at 6.36am as I awoke in a bit of a panic as I hadn't set my alarm and we were meant to be down at the river to catch the ferry in 10 mins. But I caught a beautiful sunrise, kinda like the beginning of 'The Lion King'. Although when we arrived at the jetty the ferry was full, it came back for us. We had spent most of our money on simply entering the park and didn't really have money to hire a guide, so we just took ourselves and a map and had a great time. We had spent the previous night thinking about how we could save money as quite literally we didn't have enough to do any activities. We had joked about sleeping in the car, or not sleeping at all, just staying up all night in the dinning area and having prayer and bible study. Then we considered fasting too to save money. We had also thought perhaps we could follow a car that did have a guide and see all the cool animals that way. The converstaion was quite entertaining as we all offered some ideas. In the end we decided the next day we would drive to the nearest town and see if we could withdraw more money. We did that after our morning game drive...but I'll get to that as that's a story in itself.

We drove around and saw some giraffes and Ugandan Kob etc but we were really hanging out to see elephants. Anyway, lo and behold, as we were looking for a place to stop to eat breakfast we came to a fork in the road. We had resolved previously to take the road less travelled in such events. And as we were deciding which road looked less travelled Karen spotted a lone elephant ambling further up one of the roads. We were stoked! We drove up near it and sat on the roof of the car and ate breakfast. We had brought with us bananas, boiled eggs and a mustafe - an interesting piece of fruit, quite possibly a custard apple though I have never tried one. After that we girls remained on the roof of the car as Stew drove us through the game park. It was great! We were looking out for lions. We spotted fresh tracks but no lions. We just kept driving round the park, sitting on the roof and headed towards the town of Pakwach. We were delayed by a series of large puddles on one of the tracks heading to Pakwach. We got through a few of them but some of them were too deep. The girls stayed in the car but Stew went out to test the water depths. I've posted a photo as it was pretty funny seeing him wading through the water with a machete. We ended up going back a different route and so arrived in Pakwach later than we had planned.

Safari, day 1 ... part 3

The river cruise took us and two other South African visitors down the Victoria Nile (the section of river between the source at Lake Victoria and another contributor Lake Albert). Our guide let us sit on the roof of the boat which was pretty special. It was a lovely, relaxing time. We spotted many hippos and also various birds and even monkeys in some of the trees. The most spectacular thing was the sunset though over the water. We then returned back to camp where we enjoyed a yummy (though pricey) dinner and went to bed so we could be up bright and early for MY BIRTHDAY!!! ...and the 7am ferry to go see some more animals.

Safari, day 1 ... part 2

Its amazing how things turned out this trip. God has been so good. First of all we missed entering the park the previous evening and secondly we accidently took the long route back to the park. But all things worked for good, as if this hadn't been the case we would have missed seeing some amazing wildlife. We were so excited when only minutes into the park we saw the famous Ugandan Kob, a type of antelope, that Stewart almost ran off the road. Little did we know that we would see many many more during our journey. We got out of the car to take some photos and I spotted giraffes on the horizon. I was stoked! It was hilarious. We were all zooming in as far as we could with our cameras and then zooming in again until we could see the fuzz blob of a giraffe on our screens. We then continued over the hill and low and behold the giraffes we right next to the road. It was amazing! We were so blessed. There were so many animals close to the road. In fact, I think we saw more animals on our free journey into the park than we did after we had paid to enter the more touristy part. That first drive we saw several types of antelope, warthogs, giraffe, buffaloes and vultures, all next to the road. We then arrived at the Victoria Nile where we paid for our entry and waited for the ferry so we could cross to the other side where our accommodation was. We were staying at a place called Red Chilli. They were no longer serving lunch when we arrived so we just snacked on chapati and then in the afternoon took a sunset river cruise...

(I will put up some animal pics at the end. Here you can just see some of the magnificent views. The scenery was gorgeous! I have also posted one of the first shots of the very first giraffes we saw at a distance that got us all very excited.)

Safari, day 1 ... part 1

So we stayed Sunday night in Packwach because we arrived at the game park too late in the evening. Packwach is nice. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at the guesthouse then stayed in town a bit as we waited for our tyre to be fixed and were swamped with very persistant craftsmen trying to sell us handmade figurines. We then continued on our journey back to Murchinson Falls National Park, accidently taking the long route...

Safari, here I come

We left Mbale this morning at around 9am for our road trip to Murchison Falls national park. We passed through the towns of Soroti and Lira, detouring north to stop in Gulu for lunch at around 3pm. Our map showed a route from Gulu to the park that we decided to take. It looked like the shortest option but in reality the road was attrocious and we ended up reaching the gates of the park at around 7.30pm. Unfortunately, the rangers couldn't let us in at that time. The guesthouse we had planned to stay in was within the park so after agreeing to their suggestions we headed back to the main road and on to Pakwach. we are at a nice little guesthouse and in the morning will continue on to the park.

Though long, I thoroughly enjoyed the drive today. The land between Gulu and Pakwach is so beautiful. The dirt road was lined with tall grass and your typical African-looking trees. It was so remote and rural and yet kind of busy. I'm not sure how to describe it. There were many huts set up in gorgeous little communities. The place was truely lovely and the people friendly. I wouldn't mind living in a village setting such as this one day, for a season anyway.

So over the next few days we will keep an eye out for animals and hopefully do some fun activities. We will leave on Wednesday to head to Kampala. I have attached a map as well to show you where I have travelled. The green indicates how far we travelled today. The blue is what we will travel in the next few days and the yellow is other places I have been throughout my stay here. So now all I need to see is the north-east.

Haircut

I just finishing cutting my hair. It had been at least 4 months since I had done something and was getting ratty. I forgot to bring my trusty thinning scissors but managed alright with a disposable razor.

Today I have just stayed at home. I spent the first half of the day reading my Bible, preparing and eating jack-fruit and washing clothes. My hands are still not use to the work here. My thumbs and nails are hurting from pulling segments of jack fruit out and I have small grazes on my knuckles from handwashing towels.

The others went out to meet a friend I don't know for lunch so I've just been bumming around. It's kinda nice. And I cut my hair, which is something I tend to do when I'm bored.

Tomorrow we head north-west to Murchison Falls! I hope I see a lion and a giraffe...fighting! That'd be cool.

Face Painting

Karen and I painted the kid's faces at the orphanage. A lot of them requested fish which was very funny. It just goes to show the cultural differences. Our kids in Australia would have asked for spiderman or butterflies. We had a good time, though it was brief.

Geofrey's Orphanage

This afternoon we went for a brief visit to Geofrey's orphanage. Actually it's called 'My Father's House' Childrens Home. Its very impressive. Its a bit temporal at the moment as the children are living in what will be the school building, but they have a very good vision and good support from the UK. There are currently about 16 kids but by the end of next year there should be 5 houses built in the children's village with 20 kids in each house, looked after by a house mum. Geofrey and his wife Susan have huge hearts and are doing great things for the orphans of Uganda in partnership with the donors in the UK. Please keep them in your prayers.

Bujagali Falls Panorama

Baboons!

A big day

Yesterday was great! We took Dorcas to Bujagali Falls (more like 'smalls')near Jinja. It's a beautiful spot. We have got her hooked on potato salad so we took that with us along with some other picnicy snacks. The funny thing is we forgot forks so we ate the potato salad Ugandan style...with fingers. Fingers make food fun! We also made her favourite - banana cake into little cupcakes with a caramel glaze...mmmm...

Unfortunately time was short so we didn't spend very long there. We also took her into Jinja town briefly. I think she was thoroughly impressed. Jinja is a nice spot.

In our travels we saw a truck driving along with people sleeping on the back. I thought it was funny so I've posted the photo. We then headed to Tororo, dropping Dan in Iganga first. Stew Karen and Brooke were to speak at a church fellowship that evening in Tororo but Dorcas and I were tired and needed to get home to let theguard in anyway so we opted to catch a taxi from Tororo to Mbale (about 50mins or so). On out way from Iganga to Tororo an incredible thing happened. We came across a pack (?) of baboons. We drove past very slowly, trying to get some good photos. I think in one shot you can see Dorcas' arm. That just shows how close they were - mere metres away. It was great! I wish we had more time to sit and watch them.

Anyway, Dorcas and I left the others in Tororo and travelled on to Mbale, only to realise on the way that we had forgotten to get the key off Stewart. When we reached home the guard had arrived and had jumped the wall to let himself in (comforting thought). Fortunately the outside lights had been left on so we sat and talked, the three of us. Then power went off and we sat in darkness and talked...and waited, and waited... the others didn't get back till around 9.15pm. We had been waiting around two hours in the cold, in the dark, with the mosquitoes. I was a little annoyed so ate some bananas and went to bed, but in the morning I was right again.

Today consisted of washing and chores, helping with lunch and then going into town to do some errands and go to the market. I came home, played some guitar as I waited for Stew to finish with the laptop and them jumped on the computer until now. We will be leaving shortly to go have dinner at a friends house, then back to Nasuti tomorrow to do art with the kids.

Church with chicken

Today we drove to church in Tororo. Stew brought with him a box of Bibles we had purchased to give to members that didn't yet have a Bible. We were a few short but I think they'll fix it up next week. The girls said farewell as it would be their last Sunday in Tororo before they return to Australia in 2 weeks time. Stew also preached. It was good but I don't know how much of the message the congregation actually understood. They are starting a Monday evening gathering as well to discuss any questions etc that come out of the previous Sundays sermon, so hopefully things will be clarified tomorrow. Also, one of the older women gave us a chicken. You can see it in the photo of Stew and Ps Peter.

We are celebrating Dorcas' birthday tomorrow. She doesn't actually know the real date so we thought we'd celebrate it before the girls go home. Dorcas has never left Mbale except to reach some nearby villages so we are taking her on a surprise picnic lunch to Jinja. We'll leave at around 8am, which means I'll have to be up early to cook potato salad. It should be a good time.

The others are out baking a banana cake for Dorcas but I have stayed home to work on the project newsletter and hopefully have an early night as I am exhausted! Anyone know anything about chronic fatigue? I'd better check it out when I get back home.

'Night all!

Last week

Last week was pretty good. I forgot what we did on Tuesday. If I looked at my previous blog I could probably figure it out but I won't bother just now. On Wednesday we went out to the school. It was also the same day we said good bye to Bob. He packed his little bags and we dropped him in Iganga to get a taxi to Kampala which is where he will be sitting his exams from over the coming month. We then continued on to the school in Nasuti. I was hopig to observe some lessons but we arrived late and just sat under a tree and discussed various thing with one of the teachers. We then had lunch of sweet potato and greens and then took the kids for art and craft again. This time Karen took the older kids. They got to try their hands at painting. To most, if not all, this was the first time ever. I was really impressed with some of the kids drawing skills, but others need a lot more practice, relying only on tracing and not attempting anything freehand. Brooke again did paper beads with the young'ns. And I did friendship bands wit the P5s. Most of the caught on pretty quick. And one of the older boys who is really into art and really good at it took us back to his house after school where he gave us a jackfruit to take home. We were pretty stoked. Anyway, Wednesday was good, except I hate driving at night in Uganda. People use high beam differently here. I am often blinded by cars coming towards us which is a bit risky considering there are often bicylces or people walking along the sides of the roads which are then also out of my vision. It just gets me annoyed and a little stressed so from now on I'll aim to be home by dark whenever it is within my power.

On Thursday I don't think I really did much. I ate lots of paw paw. We don't get it often and this was a real teasty one so i was pretty pleased. I was supposed to do some lesson preparation for the teacher training. I did a little but I think got caught up listening to some sermons, buying food and other things. Also our friend Wasswa visited from Kampala. He arrived on Thursday and skaughtered out chicken for us. By the way, I don't know if I mentioned it previously but the chicken got into the veggie garden and ate all the new growth so I have basically given up on having home grown vegies this year. I'll try again next year. I've attached a before and after shot of the chicken. The after shot was after it had been smoked to keep it nice as we were to eat it on Friday evening.

On Friday I stayed home and prepared my lessons and grazed on jackfruit all day. It was still a bit under ripe so it wasn't the best, but it was still okay.

On Saturday we dropped Wasswa off in Iganga. He was going home to his village overnight and returning to Kampala on Sunday. We then continued on to the school for the teacher training. We arrived at the school at 12pm, ready to teach. We waited and waited. One hour later I decided to start. There were a total of 4 teachers in attendance. It was quite disheartening. The previous week we had 13 people attending. I was told people would be unhappy with the change from Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon, but it is something we thought was best to do. What hammered it in even more was that, though this was compulsary, only 4 teachers turned up, whereas Karen had many students show up to continue with art, though it was not compulsary for them. Anyway, I think the trainging went well. We had some good discussions and some insightful comments. It seems as though these few teachers are starting to grasp some of the key concepts which is good. I guess quality is better than quantity. Any teachers who didn't want to be there, with bad attitudes watching their watches probably would have disheartened me more. I guess I'll have to talk with them on Wednesday and I will be very watched no doubt, to see what I say and if there's consequences for them not showing up. Its something I'll have to think and pray about. I'm not looking forward to such a chat but I know its necessary. It's a real shame I need to treat such adults like I would children.

It rained and rained and poured on Saturday afternoon, just as we were winding up the lesson. It kept us locked in the classroom as we waited for it to pass. It was so noisy on the tin roof that no one could hold a conversation. We just sat. It made me think how difficult it must be for teachers in the rainy season. After some time we though we should get back to Mbale so we left despite the rain. The ground was so slippery. It was a miracle we got back to the main road without getting bogged.

Bob's birthday and other things

Saturday was Bob's birthday. It was the first time in his life he had celebrated it and he says he will remember it forever. We cooked him his favourite food and a scrummy banana cake and we all went to the pool for a swim. It was a good day.

On Sunday we went to visit our friend Geofrey's church. Its called Living Word Worship Church. I really loved it! I was so impressed by the pastor and his obvious knowledge of the word of God. It is the most mature and biblically sound teaching I have heard since being in Uganda. In November they will start evening services. In Uganda such services are usually 'healing' or 'deliverance' services but this pastor, aware of the spiritual immaturity of many believers in Uganda will make these teaching services. He'll cover the 'milk', the foundations of the Christian faith and then go on to more mature things with time. I am so encouraged. I thought all churches were as I have seen, but it is so encouraging to see a spiritually mature pastor wishing to disciple people into becoming mature followers of Christ. I would like to start attending the evening services when possible.

After church we went with Dorcas out to the village of her aunt and uncle. They prepared a meal for us which was lovely. We talked with Seteven, her uncle. He liked to talk about America as he had sepent sometime there. Perhaps he thought of himself as a bit of an American. Ironically, he hadn't heard of Australia and had no idea where it was. The family are non christians but we prayed for them before we left. I hope the Lord works in their hearts and brings them to himself.

Yesterday was a day of housework and a market trip. Nothing particularly eventful happened.

Today we are again doing some errands. The girls are helping a friend out in the morning and them we need to buy paint to use at the school with the children. So far the smallest size we can get of waterbased coloured paint is 4L and there is only a small choice of colours, pastel blue, pastel green, pastel pink, pastel yellow and white. I guess we will just have to work with what we can find. We saw some good waterbased paint in Kampala, 1L tins in lots of colours. I am kicking myself that we didn't buy them there. Maybe next time we go...but that won't be for another few weeks. I also need to prepare for the next two topics I will be training the teachers in on Saturday and should help Bob with some revision. He goes tomorrow back to Kampala to sit his Senior 4 exams over the next month.

'Musumesa'

Musumesa means teacher, which is what I was today despite feeling terribly unqualified, under the shade of a mango tree. We began the first seminar of 10 today from the Effective Teaching Series put out by New Hope International. The training is designed to help schools become effective by understanding what it means to be a truly Christian school, and truly Christian teachers. I was a bit worried as I only have one year of teaching experience and here I had to deliver a two hour seminar to 13 people, some of which are quite a bit more experienced than I. But I believe the material is important and pray that God will be teaching them things through little old me. I was not sure how it was received at first. Some teachers were very responsive but others looked bored and didn't participate. I guess the lesson wasn't as interactive as I would have liked, but I've learnt for future lessons. From now on we'll be meeting on Saturdays and doing 2 sessions a day over the next 5 weeks. Needless to say I was a little nervous as I came to read the feedback I made them write. I told them I couldn't read minds and wanted to know what they were thinking about after this lesson and that they could be totally honest. I don't know if they were just being nice but every comment was positive and I could see that some of them had really gotten something from the lesson. It was encouraging. The girls continued art with the kids which went well I hear. One of the teachers even suggested we have an art and craft show for the community before we go in December. I thought that was a great idea.

Unfortunately, I think I'm getting sick so I'm going to go rest now. The others have gone to borrow a friend's oven to cook Bob a birthday cake for tomorrow - banana cake! mmmm. Can't wait.

Paper beads

Here Karen models some of the beautiful beads made by our students on Wednesday. All they need now is laquer and restringing

These are some snaps I took quickly from the back of the boda boda.

Art and Crafts at Nasuti

Yesterday Karen, Brooke and I travelled to the school in Nasuti. 'Gunner' is still being repaired so we had to travel by public means. Fortunately the taxi on the way was not overcrowded. The taxi stopped in Iganga and we then had to catch a boda boda (motorbike) for the 25min drive to the school. We arrived to find the kids waiting. We split up. I took the P6's and 7's to make knotted woolen bracelets. Karen took the P5's to do sketching and Brooke took P3 and 4 and made paper beads with them out of old newspapers and coloured cardboard and textas. We took about 1.5 hours with the kids but the time flew by. We the left but are returning to the school again tomorrow. Karen and Brooke will continue with art and crafts and I will be teaching the teachers the New Hope International material on Chistian education. The session will go for about 2 hours and we will be doing 10 sessions over the coming months. It should be good. We are hopeing to have some art and crafts to bring back to Australia. We hope to have an exhibition to raise awareness of the project, and to sell the art, photography, jewellry etc to help raise funds for the school as well. It looks as though we'll have one around Brisbane when the girls get back in November, and then one in Canberra when Stew and I get back in December.

'Gunner'

Today we purchased a car. It is small and cheap and needs some repairs but we are hoping it will do all it needs to. We've named him 'Gunner', a little white Toyota Starlet. We figured it was time we got a vehicle. Public transport is unreliable and can be unsafe (read about the bus episode). Motorbikes are good when we can borrow them but are also less safe and not good for transporting many people, nor will they be pleasant in the upcoming wet season. The selling point for me I think is the convenience of a car. I'm so sick of waiting round all the time! At least you can try keep time with a vehicle and save time. We have struck a good deal with a friend who will buy it off us when we are done anyway, so its win win, for me anyway.

Today was mostly spent checking out the car, taking it for test drives, taking it to the mechanics, trying to negotiate on a price, trying to scrap together enough money when they wouldn't agree to installments...It has been a long day.

But this evening has been good. We did a big shop at the market (now that we could transport the goods home). We had mashed potato for dinner and some improvised steak with coleslaw. Its nice having some food more like home. Hmmm, nothing much else has happened.

At the moment I'm trying to read through the Bible in 90 days (but am weeks behind). There's one thing which has sparked my curiosity and that is people's encounters with 'the Angel of the LORD'. Who is this? It seems like an angel but also at times so much more, almost as if the angel is God himself, take for example the call of Gideon in Judges (which is where I am up to). The angel of the LORD appears to him, but then later it says that its the LORD who is speaking to him. And when Gideon finds out who it really is, its as if he feels he'll die. Is the angel of the Lord God, Jesus perhaps? I've heard it said Jesus was the fourth man in the firey furnance with Shadrach et al. What about Judges 2:1 " Now the angel of the LORD...said, 'I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said. "I will never break my covenant with you..." '". Sounds like something God would say. Anyway, I'm just curious. If you have any insights or thought let me know. Will it make a huge difference in my life?...no, I don't think so, but I just feel like I want to use the brain God's given me and nut this out if possible. I may never know. I'm sure its not so clear cut, and perhaps its not for me to know...but its sparked my interest none the less. And now you know a piece of my brain today, and now I'm off to bed. Night!

International Deaf Awareness Week

This week has been International Deaf Awareness Week. Our friend Aidat invited to Kampala to join in the festivities. We arrived Thursday afternoon. On Friday we were up early and met up with more of the deaf community in town. Here we joined their parade throughout the city. They stopped at the ministery of Education to petition that they teach sign language in schools and then at a local television station to request sign language interpretation be brought back during programs. Apparently they agreed to bring it back to the Saturday weekly news which was good. The petitions were really interesting as everything was so quite. They simply held up their signs and tried to make their presence known. They had a band that played before them as they walked so that helped draw attention. Then later they had a function with lots of speeches, a few entertainment items and eventually lunch. It was nice, but Ugandan functions can test the old patience at times. We left in the afternoon to explore nakumatt, a MASSIVE supermarket/department store. It had everything you could want and so much more. I saw lettuce and broccoli, even smoked salmon, but alas, most things were very expensive, so we just bought 3 books to read (buy 2, 3rd is free!)and a few paintbrushes for the school. I've really been getting into reading. I've been reading a book a friend sent over in the mail called 'Redeeming Love'. Its like a modern day version of the events in the book of Hosea. Its interesting. I only have two chapters to go, and its a pretty thick book so i'm feeling pleased. Anyway, earlier, Karen and Stew had seen this really young kid left out on the street. When we went to Nakumatt, hours later, he was still there. It was strange to think how a baby could end up in such a position. Our friend said the mother had probably left it there to get more symathy and therefore more money from passers by, but who would give money to a baby anyway. A baby has no use for money. It doesn't make sense to me. I can't see that people would give anything other than food to such a child. Fortunately I could see someone had given the child something to eat. It was just a very bizarre circumstance. The child was gone when we returned to the venue in the evening for round two. There was some kind of beauty pagent going on - Miss Deaf Uganda perhaps. The girl from Northern Uganda won and I was pleased. It was getting late and I personally was tired and kinda grumpy so we skipped on the food and returned back to the hotel.

Today I caught up with some friends here in Kampala which was good, and tomorrow we go to the deaf church, and then possibly home in the arvo.

Right now, I'm super tired but I also kinda want to finish this book, so I'm gona jet.

Oh, just remembered. On Thursday I discovered that I could possibly have ringworm on my leg. I was excited to think my very own parasite could be living burrowed in my skin, so we named him 'Ringo', only to be informed by Google that ringworm is not a worm at all, but fungus. We'll try buy some cream tomorrow.

Brooke Day!

Wow, I can't believe I haven't posted in a week! I haven't been lazy...just busy. On Tuesday Karen and I bought supplies for Brooke's birthday which was on the Wednesday. In the evening we spent a couple of hours at a friends place borrowing their oven. We made a deliciously moist chocolate cake and little cupcakes. It was really fun to cook muzungu style again. On Wednesday Karen and I woke up early to decorate the house. We had received streamers and baloons in the mail the day previous (great timing Jaimi-lee!)so we made the place look pretty. We then prepared a scrummy breakfast for Brooke of watermelon, some weird fruit that may be custard apple though I've never had one in Australia, boiled eggs and roasted peanuts (Brooke's favourite). In the afternoon we took an Australian picnic lunch of sausages, coleslaw, bread, onion, sauce and chips to 'Resort Hotel' where we spent a nice afternoon of swimming and lounging around by the pool. Our friends Henry, Dan, Bob and Dorcas also came. Bob was the only Ugandan brave enough to come into the water. We tried teaching him how to swim. We had a great time but the hot chocolates were far too expensive. It was nice having an 'Aussie' day. The sausages in Uganda are pretty bad though. They must have food colouring in them as, even if you charcoal the outside, they still remain pink on the inside. I think Brooke really enjoyed it. Happy 19th Brooke!

Malaba

Today Brooke, Karen, Stewart and I went to visit a church in Malaba run by a man named Ps David. Malaba is almost 2 hours from Mbale, right on the border of Kenya. Malaba is a very dark place. As the trucks pass through the town from Kenya the drivers often stop over so prostitution and HIV are high. There are also many street children and many witch doctors. David tells us it is known as the most wicked town in Uganda. Some of the stories we have heard about the place are incredible. I can't go into it them all now. David has been pastoring the church here for about three years. They've encountered much opposition from the locals, particularly the witch doctors. David said when he first arrived (as he is also from Mbale) he used to just cry because of the place. He spent a full year ministering at the church everyday, often two or three times a day. He would lead intercession, worship, then bring the word, then lead deliverence prayer...I get exhausted just thinking about it. On top of this he had only been married 3 months before he moved there with his wife and he was a fairly recent convert. he had never wanted to preach, but when he was told to go, he could only be obedient. I don't know half of the things he has been through here, but I'm sure his life has been at risk several times. Although Malaba is tough ground he is seeing harvest. He explained today that it is the hard times which have grown him in the Lord, which was exactly what Stew was preaching about today.

His church has had to move several times. They are currently renting the place you see in the photos, including the small stalls I believe. He was explaining the place used to be an area of town no one wanted to visit. The buildings were filled with feces, some fresh, others as much as ten years old. The place used to stink! but that was where God had lead them to build the church. So David got in there with a few other guys and shovelled out 6 wheelbarrows of the stuff and transformed the place. There was a local witch doctor who watched them and apparently told them that he now knew why they had so much power from God, because they were such humble people. I believe that day the witch doctor went away, burned his shrine and began following christ. What a mighty example they are in that place. Ps David is so very humble and kind. I have a lot of respect for him and the work he is doing.

As you can see in the photos, the church is in a very poor state, what little tarp they have to act as a roof is at times stolen from them. The walls of the church are simply made from a reed mat, not very durable either. I think it is the poorest church building I have seen here. But praise God that the real church, the body of Christ is not a mere building. Its a shame, that the condition of the church apparently turns people away, that people can be so superficial, but I guess its the same all over the world. David says he also struggles with attendance in general on Sundays. Congregation members will stay away, even though they have no reason not to. Malaba is a hard place with many strongholds. Please keep David and his church in your prayers as he seeks to do God's work in Malaba.

Jessica's painting

This is a painting that was hanging in Ps David's house in Malaba. Jessica, from the other Aussie team that came with Jaimi-lee painted it. She is very talented as you can see. Her and her mother painted pictures for the different churches they visited according to what God placed on their hearts. I haven't heard the explanation for this one but I can guess it has to do with the current state of Malaba and the work Ps David is doing there as a beacon of hope amongst the wickedness. I thought it had some powerful imagery and just wanted to share.

Vegies

So I'm finally seeing some growth in my vegie patch. I've posted pics of the carrots, sukuma wiki (collard greens or kale), watermelon and magic beans which practically sprouted overnight. Actually we started eating the leaves today and I've planted more.
No news from the spinach though which is a bit disappointing. Dorcas just walked in a few minuates ago with some capsicums that we'll keep the seeds from and try to grow.

Other than that, there really hasn't been much to report. Most, if not all of our plans this week have fallen through. We had a few quiet days early this week but had planned to go visit our friend Geofrey's recently established orphanage on Thursday, but he was a bit busy with other things. Geof had told us about a motorbike that was for sale, so we were going to pick it up on Friday and take it for a test drive to Iganga as I had a few things to do, but when lunch time came, we realised that again it wouldn't be happening. We were then supposed to meet the motorbike guy this morning and then go to Geof's orphanage...but alas, things again did not go to plan.
So we went to the market and did a big shop. Then Karen and I did some crafts. The boys were watching some movies. I watched the tail end of 'Lord of the Flies'. I remember reading the book at school and I think seeing an old black and white movie. The one we saw this evening must be a newer version as it was in colour. It was so sad. I felt like crying. It was so horrible to see the children fighting and even killing each other - barbaric. It was very confronting, but I was just reminded of how trapped in sin we are without Christ, and even children cannot escape.

****

Geofrey just came round as I was typing. He's here now. He's been telling me his tragic love story. Oh, its so sad too. I wish I could make a movie about his life. I'd watch it.

Anyway, it's getting late and I've been on and off the net long enough. Bye!

doggies

Here are two pictures of two of our dogs. Rambo, the pup is getting bigger, and Tif, the toughest of them all does not look so tough curled up into a tiny ball.

A rainy afternoon

This afternoon Stewart, Karen and I went into town. We took our heavy duty post bicycle that we bought off a German lass and her Zimbabwean husband before they moved back to Germany. It was a nice walk, and a nice slow ride for me. We visited the post office but sadly there was no mail in our mail box. But there's still hope. I think Brooke's mum might have sent something for her birthday (?), so hopefully something is on the way. We spent forever trying to find the place where we were to pay our water bill. Eventually we found it. After this we went to the market. Because we had the bike (which has a massive basket at the front), we were able to stock up well. We have lots of fresh vegetables. Karen and I are pretty stoked to be having salad for lunch tomorrow. Huzzah! Anyway, it was about 6.30pm on our way home that it began to rain, and not the peaceful rain I've seen in Australia, but big, heavy, angry drops. It was great! I think Stew was annoyed, but I didn't mind. By the time we got home we were soaked through. (I would have posted a pic, but I still haven't got my camera back.) There was nothing to do but have a cold shower, and a warm cup of tea. I am glad I brought my hair dryer. This evening I cooked dinner and then made a small note book for me to keep records of how much we're spending and of to do lists etc. Now everyone has gone to bed, except Bob. He's kindly waiting for the jug to boil so he can top up our drinking water. He's a sweetie. Goodnight world

Village visits

Well, I've been up early. I got up at 6am to wake Aidat up and to let the guard out. At 6am it is still fairly dark, but you can see. It's light by 6.30am and the sun rises by 7am (for those that are interested the sun sets around 7pm too. Equal day and night, being on the equator). Aidat is going back to Kampala today and then back to teach at her school on Tuesday. I'm not sure if people are aware, but there have been riots in Kampala. so we pray for Aidat's safety as she moves. I've heard they should have settled down by today, so things should be okay.

Over the last few days we've been out to several villages to visit family of friends. They are always so lovely and welcoming. Typically, in Ugandan culture they will bring out tea first for the visitors and the tea will not be by itself but will come with bread, or peanuts etc. Then, afterward they bring mountains of food and you help yourself. Some of the things we ate over the few days were cassava (a long hard root vegie similar to sweet potatoe but with less flavour), sweet potato, posho (a cake made from maize meal), kalo (a cake make from millet and cassava flour), matooke (steamed and mashed green bananas), chicken, beef, beans, cabbage, greens and peanut sauce. It was nice. Another interesting thing about Ugandan culture is that the hosts will not eat with the guests. They bring the food out then leave. Its quite different to australia. I have photos of our visits but I can't post them right now as I seem to have left my camera in the village yesterday. Hopefully Dan can go today to get it. I hope its not gone for good.

My veggie patch is doing alright. The sukuma wiki (kale or collard greens) are starting to sprout and the beans have well and truly sprouted. We won't wait till the beans pod, as apparently you can eat the young leaves like greens, so we'll do that. They should be ready in 2 weeks. Yay!

Today looks like errand day, such as paying the water bill in town, checking the mail box (for the first time! How exciting - Feel free to send me gifts), going to the market etc.

Wasswa went back to school yesterday too, so now our family is down to seven. We will miss both him and Aidat. And that's all for now.